Jeff Paterson: Six surprises from the Canucks' first half of the season

Friday night marked the midway point of the 2016-17 Vancouver Canucks season. They put an exclamation mark on the first half by winning their sixth straight game and recording their 20th victory of the season. Despite a patchwork lineup, a lengthy losing skid, a sputtering power play and surrendering the opening goal in 25 of their first 32 games this season, the Canucks somehow clawed their way into a midterm playoff spot.

With all of that as a backdrop, here are six other surprises from the first half of the Canucks season. These are based on pre-season expectations for the hockey club:

Head coach Willie Desjardins of the Vancouver Canucks watches from the bench during the first period of the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on November 23, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona.

Willie Desjardins is still here

The head coach entered his third season on the job already on the hot seat after a disastrous 75-point season a year ago. Not only did Desjardins survive a nine-game losing streak in late October and early November, but also a 1-4 road trip in December which included a no-show in Washington followed by one of the biggest third-period collapses in franchise history in Carolina. At that point, his existence behind the bench seemed to have been reduced to a game-by-game basis. Yet, despite on-going questionable player deployment, the coach saved his job and possibly the team’s season with a red-hot run out of the Christmas break. He took the heat early, so he deserves some credit now. In many ways, the Canucks have taken on the personality of their coach and demonstrated a remarkable ability to survive the storms.

Loui Eriksson of the Vancouver Canucks in action against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on December 23, 2016 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

How little Loui Eriksson has played with the Sedins

Signed to a 6-year, $36 million dollar free agent deal in the summer, Eriksson was expected to produce instant offence for a team that struggled to score goals last season. But all projections for the 31-year-old were based on him spending significant time on the team’s top line and first unit power play. That’s barely happened. Instead, Eriksson has settled into a third-line role with Brandon Sutter and Markus Granlund at even strength and is a fixture on the team’s second power play grouping.

Markus Granlund of the Vancouver Canucks looks to pass in the third period against the New Jersey Devils on December 6, 2016 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Markus Granlund’s production

With two goals Friday, the 23-year-old bumped his season total to nine giving him a legitimate shot at 20 in his first campaign with the Canucks. This is the same player that managed just two goals and three points in 16 games as he struggled to adjust to new surroundings after being acquired from Calgary ahead of last season’s trade deadline. In tough matchups, the unflashy Finn, has shown more skill than expected and right now is a clear-cut win for the Canucks in the deal that sent Hunter Shinkaruk to Cowtown.

Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks stretches during the warm-up prior to playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs in an NHL game at the Air Canada Centre on November 5, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The rapid decline of Daniel Sedin’s offence

At this stage last season, Daniel led the Canucks with 17 goals and 38 points. This season, he stumbled to the midway mark with one goal in his past 13 games and just 10 goals and 23 points on the season. A year ago, he had 142 first half shots on goal. This season only 104 as he spends far more time than past years in his own zone. A big part of the slowdown is the fact the Sedins have been forced to work with a variety of linemates this season some better suited to their cycle-game than others. Still, Daniel had just a pair of multi-point games in the first half. That used to be a slow week for him.

Luca Sbisa of the Vancouver Canucks on defence against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.

Depth defencemen playing bigger roles than expected

The Canucks opened the season without Troy Stecher & Nikita Tryamkin in the lineup. It’s hard to imagine the team without either one now. Opposites in so many ways, the similarity is that the 22-year-olds have both played their way into key roles with the hockey club. And with injuries to others, Luca Sbisa has logged far more ice-time than expected. He hasn’t eliminated all of the mistakes from his game, but he’s found a way to keep things relatively simple and isn’t as prone to the glaring turnovers that have dogged him in the past.

The Vancouver Canucks finished the first half of their NHL season with 15 wins at Rogers Arena.

Home record

The Canucks managed just 15 home wins all of last season. They matched that total at the midway mark with 4-2 victory over Calgary. The Canucks are 15-6-2 on Rogers Arena ice this season. Only Pittsburgh — with 17 — had more home ice wins at the time the Canucks reached the halfway point.

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